Some retirement RVer’s try to retire early so that they can enjoy years of RVing while they are still healthy and can get around.  However, one fifth of the U.S. population has some sort of disability and let’s face it, most of us will have a hard time getting around as we grow older.  But, just because you might have a handicap, doesn’t have to mean that you cannot go RVing.

Motorhomes tend to be a good option for disabled RVer’s, because there is very little set up involved once you have the RV parked.  Travel Trailer and Fifth Wheels don’t tend to be as convenient for handicap RV owners because there is a lot set-up and take down (hitching, un-hitching, stabilizing RV slides, etc.).

RV Manufacturers are now making RV’s especially for those with health and mobility concerns.  Winnebago has just unveiled a Class B ERA Motorhome for RVers with physical challenges.  These specially-equipped motorhomes feature wheelchair lifts at the rear of the vehicle, wider aisles throughout the motorhome, wheel chair lock-downs, bath doors that swing out, and assist bars in the bathroom.  In the kitchen, this specially-designed Winnebago features a custom galley that includes a sink, stove top, and microwave that are mounted under the stove top for easy access.

Other manufacturers make RV’s for those with limited mobility which have widened entrances, roll-in showers, conveniently located controls, longer faucet handles, roll-under sinks, and bright lighting.

So don’t let any physical limitations stop you from having the retirement RV experience of your dreams.  With so many options now out there in handicap RV sales, many great years of RVing can still be ahead.

California State Parks and beaches might have just become a little bit more clean.  The interesting thing about that statement is that it is not necessarily the traditional trash that you will see disappearing from California State Parks while you are out retirement RVing, it might just be discarded cigarette butts.  On March 22, 2010, the California lawmakers voted to ban smoking at California’s 278 state parks and beaches.  It is one of the nation’s most far-reaching regulations of tobacco use.

Proponents say that it is a great vote for the environment, fire protection, and public health protection from second-hand smoke.  Those that oppose the State Park smoking ban say that it is government meddling in places where government should not meddle.

The measure still has to be signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and he has given no indication whether he will sign the bill or not.

What do you think?  Is the new California State Parks and beaches smoking ban too intrusive or are you in favor of the ban?  Will this new law influence where you take your new RV this upcoming summer if it is signed into law?  Let us know by leaving a comment below.

Photo by Fovea Centralis

If you are researching information to see if retirement RVing is right for you and/or if you have already made the decision to full-time RV and you wonder what’s next, some retirement rving resources might be good to have:

Finding a Retirement Motorhome to buy
To find that perfect retirement RV, look no further than RV sales.  This website features a RV Finder that will show you what travel trailers, toy haulers, fifth wheels, motorhomes, and campers fit your criteria.

Knowing if you can tow your RV
A common question that many RV owners have is “Can I safely tow my RV with the vehicle that I currently have?”  A great resource to answer this question is the RV Buyer’s Guide, Tow Rating Search.  Just put in the year, manufacturer, and make of your vehicle and the tow rating guide will tell you which towable RV’s that you can pull safely.

Learning about RVing
Reading the major RV forums like the forums on RV.net and others is an excellent place to start learning about full-time or part-time RVing.  You can even learn a lot, even if you are just taking a few RV vacations each year.

Another great resource is RV Lifestyle Experts.  Jaimie Hall Bruzenak and Alice Zyetz both have years of full-time RV experience and have authored numerous books about RVing.  Through their website, blog, RV Lifestyle Ezine, and seminars…the RV Lifestyle experts will teach you a lot about full-time rving.

Lastly, another valuable RVing resource just might be NuRvers.com.  This website features non-retired full-time RVers and issues that retirement RVer’s face who still need a job to support their RV lifestyle.

There are many retirement RV resources out there at your disposal.  The above are just a few to get you started on the road to RV retirement.

So, now that you went out to buy an RV of your dreams and you are ready to retirement RV, is temporary or seasonal work the next thing you are looking for?  Temporary and seasonal work can make your RV lifestyle more affordable.  So, where do you start to try to find temporary or seasonal work in the areas where you plan to retirement RV?

One popular place for retirement RVers is Branson, Missouri.  Branson offers seasonal jobs through different staffing agencies around the area and also through Silver Dollar City, a theme park just outside of Branson.  If you are looking to retirement RV in Florida, try seasonal employment opportunities with Walt Disney World or in California, Walt DisneyLand.

Some more seasonal employment options for retirement RV vacations to Texas, Virginia, California, Florida, or Pennsylvania try jobs through the World of Discovery.  World of Discovery parks include SeaWorld, Discovery Cove, Busch Gardens, Adventure Island, Water Country, and Sesame Place.

Gatlinburg is another hub for seasonal employment opportunities.  The Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers job opportunities for seasonal and temporary employment.  Gatlinburg, with it’s large tourism industry base, has many retirement RV accommodating employment positions available too.

Lastly, if you want to take a different approach to working while retirement RVing, try following the event circuit business.  For instance, if you love auto racing, try taking pictures at racing events, producing these pictures, and selling them at racing events.  The same could apply to designing, making, and distributing T-shirts during the summer season at racing events.

In continuing our discussion from last post, in this post we cover more jobs that you can do while you fulltime RV.  Some  careers can be done remotely and over the computer, perfect for retirement RVers or non-retired fulltime RV owners.  Computer support jobs, online index database jobs, computer programming jobs, freelance writing, and website design jobs are all examples of professions that can go very well with retirement or early retirement to a motorhome.  Especially now that laptop computers and wireless Internet are becoming readily available to the RVing public, these jobs have become more and more practical.

Schooling

Almost all of the above mentioned careers require some sort of specialized degree or training.  Try to plan ahead if possible, if you are not already trained in these fields.  A few years before you want to retirement RV, find a college or technical school in your current area that offers the training you need and enroll in classes.

Experience

See if you can get some experience on your resume in these fields.  This can even be done by offering your services for free to a local non-profit group or club.  Offering your services will allow you to build your resume (making you more appealing to businesses who would consider hiring you and let you work remotely) and provide a nice service to a worthy group of your choice.

Networking

Begin looking for different online work opportunities in the field of your choice.  Try searching job search engines like Monster, Careerbuilder, and/or Indeed.com for jobs that will let you work remotely or telecommute.  You can also tap into the resources and contacts that you have made from years of working, by spreading the word that you are looking for a flexible work situation.  See if any of your existing network needs your help or knows of someone who does.  Posting a profile on a website like LinkedIn can be a good start.  Starting this search early will allow you to have a better idea of where to look for employment when you finally take the plunge in a full time retirement RV lifestyle.

So remember, no matter whether you are planning to retire to a Class A Motorhome, travel trailer, or fifth wheel…if you need a job to help support your full-time retirement RV living, make sure to observe some of the tips above for a successful venture.

There are so many reasons to retire in a RV. So, how do you choose just a few for a short list?  The Top 5 reasons are shown in this post and the next Top 5 will be shown in the next post here on Retirement RVs.  Here are Retirement RVs top 10 reason’s to choose retirement RVing, in no particular order:

10.  Learning -  Not only are there interesting new things to learn about your Retirement RV, there are countless new places to learn about around the United States.  Not only can you visit our National Parks, there are countless historic homes, museums, and historic sites to learn about all of the historical moments that you didn’t quite grasp from the school history books.  If you would like to learn more about living the frugal life through RVing, check out this free RV Lifestyle webinar.

9.  Meeting new friends – RVer’s have the reputation of being some of the friendliest folks around, so it is fairly easy to meet new people, who eventually become new friends.  Some retirement RVer’s meet on the RV Forum’s through common interest topics and decide to meet up if their paths cross in the same State or at the same RV Show or rally.  Some RVer’s meet nice RV neighbors at the RV campground and become life long friends. You never know who you will meet when you Go RVing.

8.  Reconnecting with family -  Some non-RVer’s (and sometimes some RVer’s) wonder how your marriage can survive fulltime RVing.  Other RVer’s wonder how your marriage can survive WITHOUT fulltime RVing.  No matter if you are a fulltime retirement RVer or you RV for short vacations, RVing is an excellent way to reconnect with your family.  You have many hours on the road to just talk to each other, you have many hours around the campfire to tell stories, you have the boundless beauty of nature (without the TV blaring in the background) to really listen to each other.  Take your grandkids with you to really get to know them or allow your adult children to visit for mini vacations and learn what’s happened with them in the past couple of years.  The chances to reconnect with family are endless when you RV.

7.  A new challenge -  You have put in your years of work, you have raised your children, you have been involved in your community…now what?  Is it time for a new challenge?  Retirement RVing can be the perfect choice for a new challenge.  Research which motorhome is the best choice for your needs through a RV Finder and reading RV Forum posts.  Learn how to drive the RV, pack the RV, set up the RV, run the RV generator, and book reservations.  RVing 101 type articles can help.  There is never a shortage of new challenges and exciting adventures when you retirement RV.

6.  Mobility -  Need to get to a family members wedding?  Going to a out-of-State family reunion?  Want to visit your family who lives across the country?  Needing to help someone move? When you have a retirement RV, it is so easy to go anywhere at the drop of a hat.  You have all of the comforts of home and it is so easy to be mobile.

Next post, Reasons for Retirement RVing, numbers 1-5.

I must admit, even a couple of years ago, I didn’t really have a full appreciation for blogs and why you would write a blog. Now, my knowledge and propensity toward the subject has changed pretty drastically and apparently it has also changed for many others. “In December 2008 and April 2009, studies showed that around 11 percent of Internet users were using a microblogging or status updating service. That number has now risen to 19 percent, one out of every five Internet users.” (Source: Jolie O-Neil, Read, Write, Web)

I am even going to go out on a limb and say that RVer’s, especially retired full time RVer’s, love to blog. And why not? Blogging is really perfect for retirement RV owners. Just spend any amount of time on RV forums and you will learn the first rule of trip reporting is to post pictures. Blogs allow you to post pictures and tell the story of your travels. Fulltimers love blogging, because it affords them a way to document their travels for future reference and remembrance. Blogs also allow fulltimers to share their destinations, stories, and journeys with their friends and family at home. On this day alone, I counted around 500 RV Travel blogs available through sites like HitchItch and RVthereYet.cc.

So, with so many RV blogs out there, it makes sense that RVer’s would want to preserve their blog by using a service that ensures that they will not lose all of their documented travels. While reading the other day, I came across a great blog post by Rod and Jean B entitled, “Blog Backup” and what a great idea. In their blog post, Rod and Jean suggest using the service Blog 2 Print. There are also back-up methods offered through the most popular blogger websites including the Blogger Blog Send (which I believe can be set through your Blogger settings) and WordPress Codex.

So, all of you retirement RV bloggers out there, make sure to document your travels for the rest of us to read about, but also make sure to back-up your blog through a database back-up type of service. If you would like to get started in a full time retirement RV, find your perfect RV through the RV Finder on this site.

Jenny Russell writes a series of RV blogs for the RVingPlanet family of sites. To read more of these entries, please go to the RV Blog.

Are you planning a retirement RV trip to Alaska in the future? Find the best RV parks to book your stay at through this Alaska retirement RV parks link. Go see for yourself what other RVer’s rave about with your own Alaska adventure. Denali National Park and all of the famous land and water beauty this State has to offer. You could be there as early as next summer. Click here for more Alaska RV Vacation ideas.

Are you looking at RV retirement in the State of Alabama and want to know which RV retirement parks are the highest rated? Here is a good place to start to select the right Alabama RV retirement community for you. It is good to know what other RV fulltimers, snowbirds, and retirement RV users say about a RV park before you book your stay. Find which RV parks rate the highest to maximize your chances of having a wonderful stay. Are you just starting to look at fulltiming in a RV and need to upgrade your travel trailer, fifth wheel, or motorhome? This RV Sales site is a good place to start.

For those of you who are retired RVer’s but are not snowbirds, it is time to start thinking about winterizing your RV. Here are a couple of RV winterizing tips that especially work well in travel trailers and pop-up campers:

1. Get the RV tanks as empty as possible. NOTE: Gray water and black water tanks should NOT be left completely empty. Most gray tanks do not have a flush system and even when the black tank does have a flush system it doesn’t get rid of all of the solids. Emptying the tanks completely will just allow these remaining solids to turn hard over the winter and can cause clogs later on. Drain and close the tanks, then add a little water and anti-freeze.

2. Use a half gallon of the pink anti-freeze and pour it down the toilet and the other half gallon and pour it down the shower. This will put the anti-freeze down at the drain valves, so that they won’t freeze and crack. Remember that anti-freeze is cheap and much more affordable than replacing RV parts.

3. Fill the toilet with anti-freeze until it is filled to just above the seal. Also do the same thing with the drain traps on all of the sinks, the indoor shower, and the outdoor shower (if applicable). This will help the seals from drying out.

If you can, check your RV later in the winter to make sure that the anti-freeze hasn’t evaporated or leaked through the seal. If it has, pour more anti-freeze into the traps and toilet.

Protect your retirement RV now and be ready for next camping season.  Need to find a destination to snowbird or want to experience some winter weather in your RV?  Check out this site for RV Vacation advice.